Company (1996)

IMb plot summary: At Bobbie's 35th birthday party all her friends are wondering why isn't she married? Why can't she find the right man and Why can't she settle down and have a family?
Directed by Sam Mendes. Starring Adrian Lester, Sheila Gish, Sophie Thompson, and Rebecca Front.

That was the most wildly depressing version of this show I've ever seen. While most versions try to bring out the good and the bad in each couple, this one painted every couple as passive aggressive at best and flat-out hateful at worst. The musical numbers are performed nicely, but the show loses all its power if it doesn't lead to a hopeful rendition of "Being Alive." (I genuinely wondered if this version of the show was implying Bobby took his own life at the end, given the misery and the sense of finality present through his entire final scene.) The show itself is so good, but this is not the production.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Company < The Illusionist (2006)
Company > The Godfather
Company < Avengers: Endgame
Company > The Final Countdown
Company > Buddy Buddy
Company > The Thomas Crown Affair
Company < My Sassy Girl
Company > Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Company < Annie (2014)
Company > The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Company < Give My Regards to Broad Street
Final spot: #1912 out of 3007.

Je t'aime, je t'aime (1968)

IMDb plot summary: After attempting suicide, Claude is recruited for a time travel experiment, but, when the machine goes haywire, he may be trapped hurtling through his memories.
Directed by Alain Resnais. Starring Claude Rich, Olga Georges-Picot, Anouk Ferjac, and Alain MacMoy.

I appreciate what this movie is doing more than I actually like it. Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad hit me on an emotional level, while this one never quite does (and maybe that's the sci-fi nerd in me -- I keep impatiently waiting for the time travel to resurface as a plot point when it's just a means to an end). Our quietly personable protagonist does a lot to get us engaged in his extremely non-linear story, though, and it is an interesting concept.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Je t'aime, je t'aime > The Illusionist
Je t'aime, je t'aime < The Lady Vanishes
Je t'aime, je t'aime < Full Metal Jacket
Je t'aime, je t'aime < Hopscotch
Je t'aime, je t'aime > Enemy of the State
Je t'aime, je t'aime < Bye Bye Birdie (1995)
Je t'aime, je t'aime > Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Je t'aime, je t'aime < Skylark
Je t'aime, je t'aime < The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Je t'aime, je t'aime > Cape Fear (1991)
Je t'aime, je t'aime > The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Je t'aime, je t'aime > Along Came a Spider
Final spot: #1380 out of 3006.

Head (1968)

IMDb plot summary: The Monkees are tossed about in a psychedelic, surrealist, plotless, circular bit of fun fluff.
Directed by Bob Rafaelson. Starring Peter Tork, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Michael Nesmith.

...What even was this nonsense?

How it entered my Flickchart:
Head < The Illusionist
Head < The Godfather
Head < Mr. Mom
Head < C.H.U.D.
Head < Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
Head > Flesh for the Inferno
Head > Laserblast
Head < The Truth About Charlie
Head > Paulie
Head < The Brother From Another Planet
Head > At Land
Final spot: #2927 out of 3005.

National Theatre Live: All About Eve (2019)

IMDb plot summary: This is performed in the Noël Coward theatre and is an adaptation from the well known film. This story revolves around aspiring actress Eve Harrington (Lily James). Tattered and forlorn, Eve shows up in the dressing room of Broadway mega-star Margo Channing (Gillian Anderson) and tells Margo and her friends a melancholy life story. Margo takes Eve under her wing, only to have Eve use her and connive against her.
Directed by Ivo van Hove. Starring Lily James, Gillian Anderson, Julian Ovenden, and Rhashan Stone.

This is a very ugly adaptation of All About Eve. The script is good, the performances are decent (though Lily James' acting is a little broad for my taste here), but aesthetically, this is one of the least appealing theatrical pieces I maybe have ever seen. The ungainly screen in the upper half of the space becomes well worn out as a gimmick less than a half hour into the run, and the minimal set, rather than sparking the imagination, just feels sprawling and empty -- and not in a way that I feel is attempting to thematically tie into the emptiness of show business! A disappointingly distracting series of design choices.

How it entered my Flickchart:
All About Eve < Phantom of the Paradise
All About Eve > The Godfather
All About Eve > Goldfinger
All About Eve > Saboteur
All About Eve < Stepmom
All About Eve < Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
All About Eve > Genius
All About Eve > Happy Christmas
All About Eve > The Fighter
All About Eve < The Mummy (1999)
Final spot: #1648 out of 3004.

Kinky Boots the Musical (2019)

IMDb plot summary: A filmed version of the popular stage musical, in which a feisty drag queen attempts to rescue a shoe factory by designing fabulous and fetishistic footwear.
Directed by Jerry Mitchell and Brett Sullivan. Starring Matt Henry, Killian Donnelly, Natalie McQueen, and Sean Needham.

I wasn't at all familiar with the musical before watching this, or the original movie, so I had virtually no idea what this was actually about. It does make me want to watch the original film more than see the show live. The story itself is engaging, but the songs aren't terribly creative or interesting, and I'm not fully sold on Matt Henry as the flashy Lola (though his rendition of "Not My Father's Son" is lovely). Overall, a decent production of a not-that-interesting-to-begin-with musical.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Kinky Boots the Musical > The Illusionist (2006)
Kinky Boots the Musical < The Hudsucker Proxy
Kinky Boots the Musical < Winnie the Pooh
Kinky Boots the Musical > Hopscotch
Kinky Boots the Musical < The Last Unicorn
Kinky Boots the Musical < The Cutting Edge
Kinky Boots the Musical < True Romance
Kinky Boots the Musical > Meet John Doe
Kinky Boots the Musical > To Be or Not to Be
Kinky Boots the Musical > The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
Kinky Boots the Musical < Nine to Five
Final spot: #1293 out of 3003.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

IMDb plot summary: A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.
Directed by Lynne Ramsay. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Dante Pereira-Olson, Judith Roberts, and John Doman.

When director Lynne Ramsay's movie We Need to Talk About Kevin was released, I was super excited to watch it, and then found myself... lost. I just didn't get it at all. When this movie came out, I was excited to watch it and see if I was able to graps Ramsay's vision this time around. Well... I'm not. Nope. I would completely buy that Ramsay's work is creative and visionary and fascinating, but, as I've said before about Francis Ford Coppola, I think we simply speak two different film languages. I don't get any of the emotions I think she's trying to evoke, I'm just left with a sense of "...Wait, what?" This is probably better than I'm going to rank it, given the absolutely glowing reviews I keep reading of it, but all Ramsay's work just goes over my head.

How it entered my Flickchart:
You Were Never Really Here < The Asphalt Jungle
You Were Never Really Here < Burning
You Were Never Really Here > Speak
You Were Never Really Here < The Inspector General
You Were Never Really Here > Gangs of New York
You Were Never Really Here > Medium Cool
You Were Never Really Here > Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed
You Were Never Really Here > The Words
You Were Never Really Here > The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
You Were Never Really Here < Heat
Final spot: #2445 out of 3002.